Advances on antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in aquaculture environment

Antibiotics play a significant role in the disease control of aquatic organisms and output increase of aquatic products. However, long-term abuse of antibiotics can result in the occurrence of antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB) which harbor antibiotics resistance genes (ARGs) in aquatic organisms. The persistent existence, migration and spread of ARGs in aquaculture environment will potentially cause genetic pollution, destroy the ecological balance, and pose risks to human health. Therefore, how to constrain the spread of antibiotic resistance has attracted global attention. In terms of the research advancement of ARGs in aquaculture environment, this review systematically summarizes the status of ARGs pollution coupled with the source, migration and spread behavior of ARGs and their influencing factors, illustrates the correlations between ARGs and antibiotics, microbial communities and environmental factors, as well as discusses the effect of antibiotics, ARGs and ARB on ecological environment and human health. Thus, the paper reviews the management strategies and removal technologies of ARGs, and proposes the future research directions regarding ARGs, so as to provide references for revealing the pollution mechanism of ARGs and reducing the transmission risk of antibiotic resistance.